Kukla's Korner Hockey

Mario Lemieux looks 29, not 39, Craig Patrick has money to spend, Ed Olczyk has players to coach and the Igloo may be sold out for nearly every game this season.
These are heady times for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The arrival of first overall draft pick Sidney Crosby in combination with a new collective bargaining agreement that has levelled the playing field for all 30 NHL clubs has the city of Pittsburgh buzzing about hockey again.
"I was anticipating a year of recovery," Penguins president and governor Ken Sawyer said in an interview in his office. "Even with all the good news, I thought people would wait and see. But we just eliminated that year."
Forget the recovery period, the good times are here.